Cup Reels in Long John Silver's as SponsorDate Posted: 4/29/2002 12:34:16 PM

Long John Silver's, the seafood chain that will be part of Yum! Brands Inc., will serve as title sponsor of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) and presenting sponsor of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's Summer Racing Series this year.

Under the terms of the sponsorship agreement, the $1-million race for 2-year-old fillies will be called the Long John Silver's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. The seafood restaurant chain will get advertising on NBC's telecast of the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, its Breeders' Cup Preview show, and the CBS Summer Racing Series.

Additional benefits of sponorship are on-track signage and hospitality at the Oct. 26 Breeders' Cup at Arlington Park, and opportunities for national consumer promotions in conjunction with the NTRA.

Long John Silver's will become the "Official Quick Service Restaurant" of the NTRA, and also will sponsor the weekly half-hour ESPN racing program, "Long John Silver's Wire to Wire," presented by CITGO. It will debut May 2 at 2 p.m. EDT with a special Kentucky Derby (gr. I) edition from Churchill Downs.

"Wire to Wire" is a new name for "Racehorse Digest," which will continue to air is the regular timeslots of 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesdays on ESPN2, and 5:30 a.m. on Saturdays on ESPN. Jeff Medders will host the show along with ESPN horseracing analyst Randy Moss.

"We are excited about our relationship with the NTRA through the Long John Silver's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and our sponsorship of Long John Silver's Wire to Wire," said Kevin Armstrong, president and chief operating officer of Long John Silver's. "This is a natural extension of our three-year media and sponsorship relationship with Thoroughbred racing."

Long John Silver's, which has about 1,200 restaurants worldwide, merged with A&W Restaurants in 1999 to form Yorkshire Global Restaurants. The combined companies operate more than 2,270 restaurants in 47 states and 22 countries, with combined sales in excess of $1.1 billion.

Tricon Inc., parent company of Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell, announced its acquisition of Yorkshire Global Restaurants in March 2002. The five brands will be united under the name Yum! Brands Inc.